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Erectopus

Say it: eh-REK-toh-pus

Name means: “upright foot”1

Ate: MeatMeat-eating dinosEarly Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Erectopus was a meat-eating dinosaur that lived in Europe and Africa during the Early Cretaceous. It was a fast hunter with strong legs and sharp teeth.1 2

Lived

126 to 94 million years ago2

Early Cretaceous to Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

France, Egypt, and Portugal2 1

Length

5 m (16 ft)1

estimate

Weight

200 kg to 315 kg (441 to 694 lb)1

Height

1.6 m (5.2 ft)

estimate

Top speed

about 47 km/h (29 mph)

Running, estimate

What did Erectopus eat?

Erectopus was a meat-eater, a carnivore that hunted other animals.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How tall was it?

estimate

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 16 dogs

as long as 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 28 bananas end to endas heavy as 63 watermelonsas heavy as 17 kindergarten kidsas heavy as 10 school kidscould run 100 metres in 7.7 seconds (the fastest human needs 9.6)

How big was Erectopus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast was it?

A person walking about 5 km/h (3 mph)

A kid on a bike about 12 km/h (7 mph)

Erectopus about 47 km/h (29 mph)

A galloping horse about 65 km/h (40 mph)

A cheetah about 100 km/h (62 mph)

cool stuff

Fun facts

Erectopus was first thought to be a species of Megalosaurus, but later got its own name.1

Its fossils were found in phosphate mines in France, alongside plesiosaurs and crocodiles.1

Scientists think Erectopus weighed about 200 to 315 kilograms, as heavy as a large bear.1

Erectopus lived around 125 to 94 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous.2

The name Erectopus means 'upright foot' because of the shape of its foot bones.1

Some teeth found in Romania were thought to belong to Erectopus, but they probably came from a different dinosaur.1

AI-made picture of Erectopus — An AI-made picture of how Erectopus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Erectopus

?How big was Erectopus?

Erectopus was about 5 metres (16 feet) long and weighed around 200 to 315 kilograms (440 to 694 pounds), which is a similar weight to a large bear.1

?What did Erectopus eat?

Erectopus was a meat-eater, a carnivore that hunted other animals.1 2

?Where did Erectopus live?

Erectopus lived in what is now France and possibly Romania during the Early Cretaceous.1

?Is Erectopus a dinosaur?

Yes, Erectopus is a dinosaur. It was a meat-eating theropod dinosaur.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Erectopus
Named by: Huene 19232
Group: Meat-eating dinos
Family / clade: Metriacanthosauridae2
Classification: Theropoda > Allosauroidea2
Age of the rocks: 126 to 94 million years (Barremian / Cenomanian)2
Rock formations: Baharîje, La Penthiève Beds, Papo Seco2
Countries: France, Egypt, Portugal2
Fossil records: 8 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Erectopus was named by Friedrich von Huene in 1923, based on fossils found in the 1870s in France. The first bones were described by Charles Barrois in 1875.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Erectopus belongs to the family Metriacanthosauridae or another group of allosauroids.1 2

Where the facts come from

Erectopus (en.wikipedia.org)
Erectopus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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